


Slightly To The Left

by AbsolutelyAtrocious



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu | Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Genre: April Fools' Day, Fluff, Gen, Probably Some OOC, Sibling Bonding, and you CANNOT make me, i will NEVER spell azel's name with two ls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-12-30 19:08:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18321428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbsolutelyAtrocious/pseuds/AbsolutelyAtrocious
Summary: Something isn't quite right for Duke Arvis of Velthomer. Takes place a few years before FE4.





	Slightly To The Left

As he emerged from his morning shower, freshly cleaned, Arvis could not help but feel that something was off. Not in a way that was truly harmful, but simply...off. He set in his head that he would have the exact what figured out within the hour. Some might have dismissed the feeling as a caprice of the mind, but Arvis knew that it was better to be safe than sorry.

He went for a towel and opened it up, shaking it out and carefully inspecting it from end to end. Normal. Satisfied, he dried himself and wrapped it around his waist. He repeated the process with a second towel, using this one to dry his hair before hanging it on a hook. Exiting the bathroom, he put on a simple tunic and breeches before calling in his servants to begin the rather arduous process that was his haircare.

"How are you today, milord?" The pleasant voice of his main stylist, an older maid who had been serving him since before his father passed, greeted him within a few minutes.

"Quite well, Laterna. Things have been well with your daughter, I hope?" The two set about gossiping like old hens as she started to brush his hair. Her daughter had begun to court the son of a shopkeep a couple weeks back, but they both agreed the man's business was a bit shady. The wares of other people had an uncanny habit of turning up in his carts, something he claimed was the work of pranking children.

"I know she says he's a nice boy, but I really can't help but..." Arvis felt the brush in his hair still.

"Is everything alright?" Arvis asked. Was it his hair? Maybe he had gotten his first gray one early. It wouldn't surprise him with the workload he had.

Lateena's hands trembled slightly, but it felt like a true quake when magnified through the strands of his hair. "Milord, your hair is...it seems to be thinner than usual."

"I can imagine, with all the ridiculous work I've had lately. The frustration makes me pull it out," he joked.

"No, milord, far more than what one would expect. It's...well, look!" Lateena held her hand out, revealing a rather large lock that had painlessly abandoned its position on Arvis' head. To his credit, Arvis' only expression of shock was a slight raise of the eyebrows. Within the soundproof chamber of his head, however, he shouted: "How the hell did that huge of a chunk come off!?"

"Ah." He let out a slight chuckle. "I must have been under more stress than I thought. Just keep brushing through it, perhaps it's just that segment?"

It was not just that segment. 

Through the next few minutes, which felt far more like hours, the brush had to be liberated of clusters of enough dark red strands to cover another man's head, albeit sparsely. At the end, Arvis wordlessly reached for the mirror in front of him. His once luxurious mane had been reduced to a thin, pathetic mop. He resisted the urge to weep.

"Lateena," he said quietly, "I shall wear a hat today."

\---

Arvis went downstairs to breakfast, holding his head as high as usual if not higher. The only difference was that today, his head was partially covered by a tasteful dark red cap. A few of the guards complimented it, to which he respoded with a courteous smile. Not one dared to question as to why.

Azel was already at the table, eating a plate of fried eggs and toast. When he heard the door open, he shot up from his seat. "Lord Brother! Good morning!" he said, grinning brightly. Arvis smiled. It was good to know that Azel was still Azel.

"Good morning, dear brother." Arvis sat down across from him.

"Aren't you going to take off the hat?" Azel asked. "We're sitting at the table, after all." Arvis' smile went from fond to dangerous. It was a nigh imperceptible change, but one that Azel knew well. Yet he ignored it.

"My hair is still a bit wet, and I don't want it to dry incorrectly," he replied.

"Still, it's bad manners to have a hat on at the table." Azel's smile, too, shifted, from a lighthearted grin to a devious smirk. In that moment, everything clicked for Arvis. The wrong feeling. The odd tingling in his scalp. His hair falling out. Azel had done the unthinkable.

"Azel."

"Lord Brother?"

"Did you put a hair remover in my conditioner?" It was not a question.

Azel made a motion that looked like a stretch, and then suddenly bolted from his chair, yelling something that sounded suspiciously like "I swear it was just a joke!" Arvis hardly heard, too busy darting after him.

"Azel, you dastard!" His little brother only laughed in response. Beneath his shy exterior, a demon surely lurked. Skidding around the corner of the table, Arvis shot down tbe hallway hot on his brother's trail. His longer legs gave him an advantage, but Azel was more active than he was and could likely run for longer. His window of opportunity was slimmer with every second. Arvis considered his opinions: he could enlist a guard to help, but that would be cheating. He could throw a boot, but he would have to slow down. His hat would be too light, and everyone would see the patchy mess atop his head. Or...

Arvis muttered a quick, breathless incantation--a weak wind spell--and stretched one arm out in front of him. A powerful gust shot forwards and knocked Azel flat just as he started to round a corner. Arvis slowed, eventually stumbling to a halt in front of his brother.

"Is this...a funny prank...to you...Azel?" he asked, panting. Azel took a moment to reply.

"Yeah, a-absolutely." Arvis shook his head and conjured up a small flame. "Whoa, whoa, what's that for!?" Azel yelled. He was going to die for sure. But instead Arvis pinned him with an arm across his chest.

"Hold still or you're going to lose more than your eyebrows."

"Ow, ow ow ow ow ow!!" When Azel finally sat back up, the only left between his eyes and hairline were some red patches of skin, which he rubbed tentatively.

"I can't believe you singed off my eyebrows..." he muttered. Arvis smacked him lightly upside the head. 

"And I can't believe you tainted my conditioner with depilatory cream," replied Arvis. "This isn't even, truth be told, but I'll let you off gently since you're my little brother." Azel sighed, but it turned into a soft chuckle halfway through. "I thought you were going to burn my whole face off," he admitted. Arvis stuck his tongue out, a rather immature gesture for a man in his early twenties.

"I still might, so don't push your luck." Azel laughed again.


End file.
